A Georgia mother has been left distraught and in search for answers after she discovered her six-month-old infant with second-degree burns at a daycare.
Fay Mernard said it all unfolded at Childcare Network in an Atlanta suburb. She said the day she picked her daughter up from the daycare, an employee asked her about a rash on her baby.
“She said Ayva had a diaper rash, and I said, are you sure it’s a rash,” Menard told Channel 2 Action News. “I said it might be her eczema because she gets dry skin every now and then.”
She then recalled that her daughter, named Ayva, had a wet diaper so she proceeded to change it while at the center.
“By her private area is pink raw flesh,” Menard said. “I started crying, and I said this is not how I brought her in.”
She immediately alerted staff about it and the manager began to play surveillance video.
“She was facing the counter,” Menard recounted when she watched the footage. “When she turns back around, she has wet wipes or napkins in her hand. She lifts Ayva’s leg, places it there, and holds it there. As she holds it there, Ayva’s arms go from laying on her side to shooting outward.”
The mother rushed her daughter to the emergency room, where medical personnel informed her that Ayva had “second-degree burns with raw dry dermis on the right buttock.”
She then went to Henry County Police Department and an investigation is underway. When police contacted the daycare, the manager, named Shonda, said “I don’t know. I’m not familiar with it.”
Channel 2 Action News has since examined an assessment conducted by CPS where detectives say they corroborated claims of poor supervision against an employee.
Following the investigation, Childcare Network released the following statement obtained by the news outlet.
“The physical and mental well-being of the children and families we care for is of utmost importance to us. We are grateful to our families for the privilege of caring for their children and take this responsibility, and any concerns, very seriously. An investigation was conducted when this matter was first brought to our attention and we took the appropriate steps to address this matter. Our number one priority is to ensure we provide a safe and high-quality experience for the families we serve.”
